Americans may feel a bit spooked by Halloween prices

By Auzinea Bacon, CNN

(CNN) — A group of college students walked into Lorenzo Caltagirone’s costume store in Washington, DC, earlier this week to dress up as yellow cartoon Minions for Halloween. Once they saw the price — $60 apiece — they opted for small accessories to get a similar look: goggles, gloves and hats.

The college students aren’t alone in noticing heftier price tags, Caltagirone said. He said he has to play “The Price is Right” with customers now that adult costumes at his store, Total Party, are about $10 more expensive — bringing totals to between $50 and $70.

That’s in part due to licensing costs, but it’s also because Caltagirone has paid more to import costumes due to the Trump administration’s tariffs. The materials used for costumes are also more expensive, he noted.

Caltagirone told CNN that freight costs have gone up at least 20% in the last year. His costumes are mostly imported from China (95%), with some from Vietnam. Few costumes in his stock are made in the United States.

Americans are still expected to spend $4.4 billion on costumes, or 2% more than last year, according to the National Retail Federation.

October accounts for roughly half of Total Party’s sales, 80% of which are in the last week of the month. Caltagirone gets a rush of people whose last-minute online orders went awry and need to shop in person.

Halloween is the store’s “saving grace,” he said. On average, Total Party may get more than a thousand customers during the last week of October.

Caltagirone said there are still customers willing to spend in the high-end section, where costumes like pirate shirts or colonial outfits run as high as $300.

“When it comes to Halloween, (people) tend to splurge on themselves and on their family,” he said. Many people don’t mind paying extra for a branded costume, like Ghostface from the movie “Scream” or Marvel’s Spider-Man.

Camille Campbell, from Southeast Washington, DC, bought her 10-year-old daughter a costume of Jessie from Disney’s “Toy Story.” That $50 costume, in addition to a referee t-shirt, cost Campbell around $75.

She said some people “don’t have (that much)” for a costume, but it was worthwhile for a last-minute costume purchased the day before Halloween.

But Total Party has dealt with fewer customers. The Trump administration’s mass federal layoffs in 2025 wiped away a chunk of regional workers who would normally buy from Total Party, which moved from Crystal City, Virginia, to L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, DC, in April 2025 after nearly 20 years of business.

“We anticipated having a customer base for our party supplies and everyday greeting cards … that has dwindled because of all the cuts,” he said.

Caltagirone is more selective about the products he imports from suppliers, to ensure products don’t sit on the shelf. He has also sold some costumes at lower prices because he worries that customers are more selective.

David Perez, 36, only bought the accessories for a makeshift priest costume. His total came out to about $20 — a decision he made because a full costume cost between $30 and $40.

“I get that inflation comes into play,” he said. “But now I’m paying twice as much for half of what I’m getting.”

Still, Halloween is “one of those things that’s worth splurging … (you) only get it once a year,” Perez said.

A price-sensitive holiday season

Despite price sensitivity, customers celebrating Halloween are just as likely as ever to buy a costume, said Caltagirone.

“People are probably struggling. They might lament the prices. But at the end of the day, they end up whipping out their credit card,” he said.

NRF’s Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights Allison Zeller said in a news release that Halloween is a “spending priority” for consumers.

“But they are also approaching the season with affordability in mind,” she said.

The NRF estimates consumers will spend $13.5 billion this year on Halloween, or about $400 million more than last year. Consumers are expected to spend an average of $115.14 per person, according to the NRF, up from $103.63 in 2024.

Americans are expected to spend $4.1 billion on candy.

Candy buyers are paying up to 15% more than last year, or about four times more than overall inflation, according to the Groundwork Collaborative. Packs from chocolate makers Hershey and Ferrero are 19% more expensive, as weather conditions have impacted cocoa crops in West Africa.

“I don’t anticipate the price of cocoa coming back down significantly. It has dropped some, but it’s starting to kick back up,” said David Branch, sector manager for Wells Fargo’s Agri-Food Institute.

People have begun to pull back from chocolate candy due to price hikes, said Branch, while companies are making their own changes — like adding wafers in candy bars.

Sugar, corn syrup and fuel costs affect other candies. Gummy candy from Mondelez — the maker of Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish — is up 39%.

Americans have also seen a small uptick in the price of pumpkins. At Round Hill Farm near Culpeper, Virginia, guests could hand-pick a pumpkin for 70 cents per pound last year. Owner Rob Faulconer has tacked on 10 cents due to diesel and fertilizer expenses. He “tries not to go up much (in price)” for customers.

“Going to the pumpkin patch and picking pumpkins and then being on a farm … That is an experience that (families) carry over. We have adults that come now that were here as kids, and now they’re bringing their kids,” Faulconer told CNN.

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